Ask Penny: How Do You Make Money from Your Blog?

It is a question that I get asked pretty often. “How do you make money from your blog?” Or, it might be, “How much money do you make frm your blog?”

I honestly do not mind answering because I think it is natural to be curious, especially when there are reports on the news and in magazines of bloggers making SIX figures. Geez. I wish!

Since I am a full disclosure blogger, I thought I would re-visit this question for those who are wondering.

How do you make money from your blog?

1. The primary income is through affiliate marketing. A lot of bloggers will not tell you this but when you print coupons through their websites or sign up for newsletters or participate in other *HOT* deals, they are getting a kick-back through an affiliate marketing agency. Typically, it is only a few cents per person. That is why traffic is so important to a blog. When you share my blog with others and the traffic goes up, there is a higher likelihood that someone is going to click a link that is going to bring $0.05 to $0.75 into my pocket.
2. Another source of income is through Amazon.com. When you make a purchase at Amazon after clicking through one of my Amazon links or the Amazon widget in my sidebar, even if you are getting your purchase for free by using gift cards, I make between 4% and 6%. It costs you nothing extra to do this. I also make a small commission when you subscribe to my blog through Kindle.
3. When you purchase items from me directly, such as the Coupon Workshop DVD or the Designer Gourmet Apple Instructions, I also make money. I get to keep the majority of those purchases as profit but those exchanges do not happen very often.
4. Even though the incentives I receive by using my referral links to social shopping websites are not actually income, it allows me to purchase items for my family that I would not ordinarily consider. Therefore, I consider that income too.

How much money do you make from your blog?

Not much.

This blog has been active for almost two years. In that time, I have made a whopping $651 through affiliate marketing. Let’s see… $651 divided by about 20 hours per week for two years…

I don’t want to know! You just don’t blog like I do for the money. Sure, coupon and freebie bloggers make a lot more. (That’s where those SIX figure amounts come into play and why they closely guard their traffic.) But, I enjoy being real with people and educating and making friends. Income would be nice… I’m not going to lie. Bill and I keep hoping that one day the blog will make enough money for us to buy our gas each month or maybe go out on a date night. Okay, so we are hoping for more than that, but when I get comments from you, emails about something you have learned, posts on Facebook expressing your appreciation, hugs when we meet in the store… those are the BIG paydays.

I enjoy your questions and try to answer them when I can. Please feel free to ask me anything.

If you would like a list of the affiliate marketing companies I use and trust, please let me know. (I do make a little from referrals.)